Development of guidelines for assessing and reducing accident risk in high-stacking warehouses

The task consisted in defining the concepts and definitions used in the context of warehousing, identifying the most common hazards that influence occupational safety in high-stacking warehouses and discussing legal regulations related to occupational risk assessment in warehouses and resultant obligations of the employers.Tools for identifying mechanical hazards were developed and occupational risk was assessed at three selected workstations characteristic for high-stacking warehouses: those of an operator of a lift truck, a stacker and an assistant warehouse worker.The developed guidelines for reducing accident risk in high-stacking warehouses include the use of means of prevention appropriate for existing mechanical hazards that are mentioned in legal regulations. The guidelines also include OSH requirements related to warehouse buildings, warehouse routes, warehouse equipment, vehicles for moving goods, manual stacking of goods on a pallet, personal protective equipment, warehouse workers' behaviour and warehouse documents.The guidelines were verified in three different warehouses, in cooperation with OSH services, especially regarding a detailed analysis of existing hazards, risk assessment at selected workstations and prevention activities.The developed guidelines are mainly addressed to small and medium-sized enterprises.